


Heat of the moment

by Lothiriel84



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-02
Updated: 2012-06-02
Packaged: 2017-11-06 15:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/420200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It was the heat of the moment / Telling me what my heart meant / The heat of the moment / Showed in your eyes" (Asia) - Set some time after the season finale, so beware of spoilers...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heat of the moment

_It was the heat of the moment_

_Telling me what my heart meant_

_The heat of the moment_

_Showed in your eyes_

_  
_

Damn. He knew that the twisted game he was playing with Red John was dangerous. Extremely dangerous. It was kind of obvious that the man was going to raise the stakes sooner or later.

Now here he was. Facing Red John – the real one this time, he felt sure of that – who was currently pulling his gun on Teresa Lisbon.

The fact that he hadn't killed her yet was just another part of his cruel plan. Red John wanted _him_ to be there when he fired that shot. To stand there completely helplessly as he took his best friend's life.

"Drop the gun, Patrick. Drop it – or she dies."

A shiver ran down his spine. That voice sounded so smooth and pleasant – almost as if Red John was making small talk with him.

He knew that the bastard was going to kill her either way. Question was, did _he_ dare to take the shot and try to save her life?

If he ended up shooting Teresa instead of Red John… He simply couldn't bear the thought.

This wasn't about revenge anymore. Her life was all that mattered right now.

_I'm always going to save you, Lisbon – whether you like it or not._

He just hoped he'd be able to keep his promise.

"I'm going to count to three", Red John stated calmly. "One… two…"

The basement reverberated with a gunshot. And for a terrible, never-ending moment it wasn't clear which target had been hit.

Then the man fell limply to the floor.

Next thing Jane was aware of was holding Lisbon in his arms – hugging her as tightly as he had done only once in his life.

Just before pretending to shoot her.

_Good luck, Teresa. Love you._

He dimly recalled those words slipping out of his mouth in the heat of the moment. That was the last thing he had been willing to admit there and then. The last thing she had expected to ever hear from him as a matter of fact.

_So, that thing you said before you shot me… what did you mean?_

Of course he had denied remembering his own words. The truth of his feelings for her would have probably overwhelmed them both – and that was the last thing they had needed at the moment.

He had no idea how long they stayed there, holding each other above Red John's dead body.

When Van Pelt broke into the basement – the fear in her eyes giving way to sheer relief – she found them still in each other's arms.

She kneeled and checked the dead man's pulse. Her voice sounded a bit hoarse as she asked: "You alright?"

"Yeah. We're fine."

It was the first time he heard Lisbon speaking after Red John had kidnapped her. Jane tightened his arms around her, as if he didn't want to ever let her go.

"Jane. We should get the boss checked by a doctor."

He started trembling. What if he had missed Red John and hurt her instead? What if…

Teresa ran a soothing hand along his back. "It's okay, Jane. I'm still here. You saved my life, you know."

Very reluctantly he finally relinquished his hold on her.

"Van Pelt is right. Let's take you to the hospital."

As they stepped outside the building – a single star showing in the darkness just above the skyline – his hand found hers and grasped it.

"Teresa", he said quietly. "I have to tell you something."

Her eyes searched his expression for a moment. "Okay."

Jane shook his head. "Not now. Later."

"Okay", Lisbon agreed once again.

She had a feeling she knew exactly what Jane was going to tell her.

Actually he'd already told her before. All he needed to do was to admit it, that was all.


End file.
